Slim Pickings: Emmy Red Carpet

Thanks to The Rachel Zoe Project, we now have a
better appreciation for the weeks and sometimes months of premeditation,
last-minute alterations, and FedEx dramz
that go into selecting and styling the right dress for the right client for an
event like last night's Emmys.

Somewhere
between the Independent Spirit Awards and the Academy Awards in its red carpet
entertainment value, the Emmys is usually a healthy mix of successful chance
takers, their less successful counterparts, the cocktail dress crowd, the
off-the-shoulder older women contingent, and those whose tired, floor-length,
strapless gowns clearly (and perhaps rightfully) tell the world: I'm an actress, not a Traina, now move along.

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Last night,
however, there were far fewer in the first two groups than usual, leaving those
of us who endured three hours of Giuliana Rancic proffering questions like, What is your favorite/least favorite body
part? (for the record, Julia Louis Dreyfus' answers were: her "big nose"
and "cashew shaped" pinky toes), to wonder why so few January Joneses in lady
futuristica Atelier Versace, and so many dang off-the-rack satin column gowns?

Despite the
slim pickings, I did manage to find four dresses that blew me away. Do you
agree or disagree?

And let's
not overlook the men, who, this year, rivaled the women for sartorial kudos
more than they have in...well, ever. From Simon's slick, Batarang-like
bowtie to Jon's ladyblazer-soaking* classic movie star look to Gabriel's undone
nattiness to Alec's charming two-tone lavender, it was almost more a pleasure
to do fashion business with the actors this year than the actresses.